Obtaining a Freight Brokers Licence

One day it happens; a truck diver looks in the mirror and makes
the decision to leave his current driving job and take on the
challenge of a trucking owner operator; questions arise and cheif
among them are "Do I need to pay money and obtain a freight
brokers license?"

It would be nice to be able to broker a load when you needed one
to make sure you were making money, and it'd be nice to make a
little extra helping out others needing loads as well.

Numerous sites will lead you along about information on a
brokers license, feeding you this book and that book, all the while
asking for your credit card number." Do I need to pay the money and
obtain a freight brokers license? Do I need some kind of bond or
insurance to do this? If I just get my own authority to haul under
my #1 truck and have the other trucking owner operator haul under
my authority, I should be all set to go?"

You could help trucking owner operators
find loads but when you do it for a fee you
stretch the meaning of a broker; if you do this most shippers will
ask to see your brokers authority or a bond. A broker usually puts
a shipper and a carrier together,
because the broker has an agreement with the shipper to move its
freight. A broker usually plays the part of the
middleman.

What is means to be a Trucking Carrier Company

To be a carrier you must have an MC # and a USDOT # and all the
rules and regulations must be adheared too, including logs. Only
then could you run other owner operators under your company name.
Some carriers will hire owner operators with their own
authority so they don't have to keep logs on them. As a carrier you
don't need a brokers authority, but if you have too much freight
and not enough guys to move it you could elect to broker your extra
loads to another carrier. In this senario you would be required to
have a brokers authority.

Depending on how you get the freight you find for contractors
and under who's name the freight will be moving, will depend on
whether you need a brokers license. I could go out and help someone
find a load but who actually signs the broker confirmation?
Is it you or the contractor?

Will the shipper be paying you for the load and you then pay the
contractor? If so a brokers authority is required.

How is your arrangement set up?

You don't have to be a broker to accept a load from another
broker or shipper. You don't have to be a broker to help someone
find a load as long as the contractor signs the confirmation and
has his own operating authority. And it depends on how you're
shipping; are you invloved in interstate or intrastate shipments?
In CA you can broker freight within CA without a brokers authority.
But let's not complicate this issue anymore than it already is,
let's figure your doing interstate shipments.

To get a Brokers authority all you need to do is apply for it
and get the bond.

To get a Brokers authority all you need to do is apply for it
and get the bond, keep in mind there are many ways for one to
operate his/her business and still be within the law.

For more information DOTauthority.com is an excellent source for
info about a brokers license.

For more information feel free to ask the experts in our
truckers
forum or read an excellent article by James P. Lamb of
DOTathority.com by clicking here.